The present invention relates to a tonneau cover device of a vehicle that is provided so as to extend substantially horizontally above a baggage compartment at a vehicle-body rear portion.
Conventionally, it is known that a vehicle, such as a station wagon, which has a back door at a vehicle-body rear portion and in which an space for the baggage compartment is formed in front of the back door, is equipped with a tonneau cover device that is provided so as to extend substantially horizontally above the baggage compartment in order to prevent a baggage or something in the baggage compartment from being recognized from the outside of the vehicle. Herein, if the tonneau cover device remains in its position above the baggage compartment even when the back door is opened, loading of baggage or something through an opening portion formed by the back door opened may not be easy.
Then, the tonneau cover device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,181,911, in which the tonneau board is coupled to the back door via a linkage member or the like and the rear end of the tonneau board is pulled upward according to the opening movement of the back door, is known.
The above-described tonneau cover device enlarges the opening portion formed behind the tonneau board according to the opening movement of the back door, so that the loading of baggage or something can be made easier and the facility of baggage compartment can be improved.
Meanwhile, the baggage compartment at the vehicle-body rear portion is generally designed in such a manner that the width of its upper side in a vehicle width direction becomes gradually smaller from a vehicle-exterior-design perspective. Accordingly, the tonneau board disclosed in the above patent publication is configured such that only its center part is pulled upward, leaving its both-side parts in their positions, in order to prevent any interference of the side face of the board with the vehicle body such as the side windows.
Nevertheless, it may be preferable that an entire width-direction part of the tonneau board be pulled upward from the point of view of full utility.
Therefore, it can be considered, for example, that a pair of guide rails is provided at rear pillars or the like of the baggage-compartment side portions so as to extend obliquely relative to a vertical direction, both-side portions of the tonneau board are supported at the guide rails, and the tonneau board is guided so as to move upward along the guide rails. This constitution may allow to pull the entire width-direction part of the tonneau board upward, without any interference of the side face of the board with the vehicle body such as the side windows, because any outward (rearward) projecting movement of the tonneau board is not caused.
The above-described constitution, however, provides a concern that a rear part of the tonneau board that is located behind the guide rails may interfere with a rear header or something that are disposed behind the baggage compartment because that part of the tonneau board is pulled upward together with other parts of the tonneau board. Therefore, it may be considered that the above-described rear part of the tonneau board is configured to be separate from the other parts of the tonneau board and fixed to the inside face of the back door.
Herein, if a relatively hard tonneau board is fixed to the inside face of the back door, there is a concern that a head of an operator may interfere with the tonneau board projecting downward when the back door is opened and thereby the loading of baggage may not be easily conducted. Further, if the tonneau board is fixed to the inside face of the back door, that fixed tonneau board projects downward from the back door opened. This may cause some deterioration of appearances.